Series of Essex County busts bring in 42 suspects

ESSEX COUNTY — The war against gang-dominated drug dealing on Newark and East Orange streets stepped up Friday with the arrest of 19 more suspects in a dragnet dubbed "Operation Borderline."

More than $9,000 worth of drugs and guns have been seized and 42 suspects — 20 of them reputed gang members — have been arrested in raids aimed at disrupting the drug trade along the Newark-East Orange border.

"This operation has really just begun," said Jose Cordero, East Orange’s police director, as he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with acting Essex County Prosecutor Robert Laurino and a horde of police brass at a noon press conference held along the border on South Orange Avenue.

About 30 more suspects are still being sought, said Thomas Fennelly, head of the Prosecutor’s V.I.P.E.R. Unit, the county’s lead gang and drug task force. The investigation could yield more than 70 arrests upon completion, he said.

Armando Fontoura, Essex County’s sheriff, said criminals should not be emboldened by widely reported budget cuts that are expected to thin law-enforcement ranks around the county.

"Our army is the same army," he said. "We’re all fighting the same war. … Our army is still much bigger than yours."

Friday’s announcement was held at a border hotspot, just a few hundred feet from a shrine carrying the words "My Beloved Son." The memorial marked the place where a 19-year-old was slain in what police described as a gang-related shooting this summer.

The latest arrests, on Thursday night, stemmed from five search warrants executed at four locations in Newark’s Vailsburg neighborhood, officials said. The catch added to the 23 arrests made in a companion sting called "Operation Midway," which started Tuesday.

The "Operation Midway" arrests included 18 known members of the "Bloods" and "Crips" gangs or their subsets, who, in some cases "joined forces" to control the drug trade along the William Street corridor in East Orange, Cordero said. Law enforcement officials said cooperation between the rival gangs is not surprising.

"We have seen it before, and it comes down to money," said Fennelly. "It was a business arrangement."

The alleged gang members arrested this week ranged from street dealers to higher-ranking members in the distribution chain who would supply narcotics to suspects accused of "working the corners," Fennelly said.

The 42 suspects nabbed since Tuesday have been charged with 381 separate offenses, said Sgt. Andrew Dielmo, East Orange Police spokesman. Those charges are expected to range from drug distribution to weapons offenses and conspiracy.

Along East Orange’s Brookwood Street, outside an East Orange police Mobile Command Center carrying taped-on mug shots of the accused, Mayor Robert Bowser issued this warning: "You are going to get caught."

Neighbors, Laurino said, had been "held hostage" by the drug trade, leading to the creation of the joint task force.

"People do not feel safe going out on the street," Laurino said.

The drug traffickers peddled heroin, cocaine and marijuana, Laurino said. Police also seized three guns, including a high-powered 9mm rifle, said Dielmo.

Matt Rainey/The Star-LedgerEast Orange Police Department, along with the Essex County Prosecutors Office, arrest and process 30 drug suspects at a mobile command post on Brookwood Street in East Orange.

The dragnet was welcome news to Ron Rice, Newark’s West Ward councilman and a self-described "harsh critic" of police.

"I have to applaud the men and women of the Newark police department for this," Rice said. "This is timely in its execution, and my hope is it will end the shootings, the murders, the robberies and the open drug market. I’m hoping this represents the beginning of the end." His Vailsburg area, he said, has witnessed a spat of "tit-for-tat" shootings that are historically out of place there. They came as Newark marked its bloodiest summer since 1990, with 35 people killed between June 1 and Aug. 31. Most of the slayings were classified as "drug-motivated" incidents.

Stepping out onto his porch on East Orange’s Brookwood Street Friday, one longtime homeowner was glad to see the heavy police presence, but he had a caveat.

"We enjoy the moment while we have it, but they can’t stay here forever," said the homeowner, who asked his name not be used. Then he spotted a young man walking down the street. "There’s a Blood up there, with the red cap."

Still, he was relishing his new sense of security.

"In the interim, we can sit on our porch," he said while glancing at the empty space. "I’m thinking about buying chairs for the porch.

Authorities arrest over forty in Essex County drug bustIn two joint investigations between Newark and East Orange police forces, authorities have arrested more than 40 suspects in an Essex County drug and guns bust over the past several days. The two and a half month investigation centered around cocaine and heroine being distributed along the East Orange/Newark border and Newark’s West Ward. (Video by Michael Monday/The Star-Ledger)